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Monday, October 24, 2005

The many uses of pumpkin....

Since we had some more pumpkin to use up and I knew I was going to be making soup tonight, I wanted to find a fun and different bread to make. I came across this recipe last month and pulled it out of the recipe pile to try.

Pumpkin-Walnut Focaccia with Gruyère takes a bit of time to make as it requires 3 different rises but makes plenty so you can freeze the other loaf. This bread was so worth the effort. This is not your traditional foccacia/flatbread type with dimples. I think the recipe name is a little misleading. It has a sweet subtle pumpkin flavor while being slightly chewy and dense. Next time I would increase the cheese amount, I could tell it was there but it could take on more flavor without overpowering the bread.

The bread paired very well with tonight's Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup. Roasting the tomatoes, onions and garlic with the other ingredients brought such a depth of flavor to this dish. It has such simple flavors that stand out in each creamy bite. Perfect comfort food on a chilly evening. Grilled cheese would also go so well with this (thinking ahead for the leftovers!)

How yummmy sounds like my Sunday... we did soup and I made some homemade sandwich bread and an artisan bread as well... Bread is very needy... no pun intended :)... but well worth it for the end result!

Both recipes today look great!! And with so many good reviews on the pumpkin foccacia I may end up trying it myself! Do you think making half-recipe would work? (I know I will like it, but am not sure about my husband...)